While Canadians love to travel, often it's on a tried and true path. Many of the most popular destinations are wonderful for a reason, but there is something to be said for charting a different course. To avoid some crowds and to experience something new, why not try an alternative destination to the places on everyone's travel to-do list?

Kathleen Wynne's budget proposed a new tax that will increase the average price of an overseas trip for a family of four by hundreds of dollars. Flying in Canada is already obscenely expensive, thanks to a host of taxes, fees, charges, rents, and regulations imposed by both the federal and provincial governments.

It's no secret that Canadians relish their winter vacations, those two weeks during which they can escape the bitter cold (and their jobs). It's no surprise Canadians seek sunny warm weather and head south but some of the results will raise an eyebrow or two. The top 14 destinations are listed in the slideshow below.

My family and I are city slickers, that's a fact. We love the life that living in the downtown core affords us. People say that "back to nature" is the way to go if you want to get a real perspective on life. Hogwash, I thought... until now. My motor-mouth and city swagger was at once shot down by the scene before me. I had been humbled by the mountains.